Fernando Alonso and McLaren have missed the Indianapolis 500 after a 23-year-old American in a rebuilt race car for an underfunded team snagged the final spot in the field.
Kyle Kaiser bumped Alonso out of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” by .032 km/h in Sunday’s Last Row Shootout to set the 33-driver field.
All the attention was on McLaren, which leaned on Andretti Autosport, Team Penske, Chevrolet and anyone who would help to get the two-time Formula One champion into the race.
Alonso made his final qualifying attempt Sunday on a cold track for an undermatched McLaren group and only had to beat three other drivers.
It seemed he had enough until Sage Karam jumped to the top of the running order and Alonso fell to the bubble.
Max Chilton and Patricio O’Ward were both eliminated and that left only Kaiser to keep the Spaniard out.
He turned four nearly flawless laps.
Alonso, swarmed by fans and media as he tried to watch Kaiser’s qualifying lap, saw the final speed, hopped on a waiting golf cart and was driven away.
“I don’t think I can wrap my mind around what we just did,” Kaiser said.
Karam and James Hinchcliffe, who crashed in Saturday qualifying and needed a backup, took the other two qualifying places.
Juncos Racing had lost both its primary sponsors right before Tuesday’s opening day but Kasier still managed to find decent speed.
He then crashed in Friday practice and destroyed his car.
The team worked overnight to have a backup prepared in time for Saturday qualifying but Kaiser found himself in the bottom six and had to shoot it out for his spot.
McLaren last raced in the Indy 500 in the 1970s but was back to both help Alonso complete his quest to win motorsports’ version of the Triple Crown and as a feeler for a potential full-time IndyCar team.
But the process was a disaster from opening day because of electrical issues, an Alonso accident, a lengthy delay in rebuilding him a car, a puncture on his first qualifying attempt, and finally, a car too difficult to handle for Alonso to qualify in the top 30 on Saturday.
